Max Verstappen once again carved his way through the pack at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, charging from P21 on the grid to claim a brilliant podium finish. The four-time World Champion faced a back-of-the-grid start at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace after taking on several power unit component changes for Sunday's 71-lap race.
Over the opening laps, racing on a wet but drying track, Verstappen wasted no time slicing through the field. He vaulted into the points immediately and hovered near the podium places before the field transitioned to slick tyres. Through the middle phase of the Grand Prix, he climbed to second place. When rain returned late in the race, a final pit stop for intermediate tyres left him 14 seconds adrift of polesitter and race winner Lando Norris at the checkered flag.
It was so, so difficult, so challenging, especially switching from the intermediate to the soft tyre, avoiding the traps,
"Yeah, it was a challenging race," Verstappen said. "I think the first few laps, of course, were very important. I overtook a lot of cars, and actually, that first stint, I think on the intermediates, was really, really strong."
Despite the early brilliance, the machine began to misbehave. "Unfortunately, after that, I don't know if we picked up some kind of damage because the car felt like the complete opposite to anything that I've felt the whole weekend, with some really weird balance," Verstappen added. "Unfortunately, once I got into P2, I couldn't really make any inroads. So we have to understand what went wrong there. But, I mean, starting P21 and being on the podium in second, I think, is a very good result."
Interlagos continues to be a phenomenal venue for Verstappen, following his victory from P17 on the grid in 2024 and a march from a pit lane start to P3 just 12 months prior.
It was a stunning day overall for Red Bull, as Isack Hadjar secured a double podium for the team, marking their second double-podium feat of the season following their success in Baku. The Frenchman started P5 and climbed to P2 during the middle portion of the race, though he was instructed to yield the position to Verstappen after running wide and losing time at Turn 1.
"It was so, so difficult, so challenging, especially switching from the intermediate to the soft tyre, avoiding the traps," Hadjar said. "It was extremely difficult, especially in the pit lane. You saw how tricky it was to drive, and then more rain at the end. So happy to be standing third today. But I need to keep making a bit less mistakes because I could have avoided a little awkward situation with Max. So yeah, just want to apologise because I think on that stint I could have kept it a bit more on the track."
Hadjar also had to fend off heavy pressure from Antonelli as fresh rain arrived in the closing stages before the final switch back to intermediate tyres. During the chaos, the Red Bull driver had a heart-stopping moment in the pit lane. "I was testing the grip for him [Antonelli], basically," Hadjar explained. "I could see he was challenging me a lot, and I was on ice, and he was on ice as well, but it was well managed. I nearly shunted into my pit crew when boxing, but they did a fantastic job. They kept their calm, and the pit stop was fast. So big thanks to the boys."
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